A pioneer of the San Diego craft beer scene, Karl Strauss Brewing, is coming to Temecula.

In late summer, the privately held company is planning to open its eighth restaurant in the building near Ynez and Winchester roads that used to house an On the Border Mexican place, which was shuttered during the recent recession.

The restaurant also will feature a micro-brewery on site, a seven-barrel operation that will give the city's rapidly expanding craft beer contingent, which exploded from two brewers to six last year, another member.

"We've got some cool plans," said Melody Daversa, a company spokeswoman, who said the interior will feature many of the "edgy" design cues used in its location near Rancho Bernardo that opened last year.

The restaurant will be the first for the company in Riverside County and Daversa said it should help Karl Strauss open more distribution lanes for its beer, both in retail locations and in restaurants via keg sales.

"We're excited to reach a new market," she said.

The company now has restaurants and breweries in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties. It brews more than 30,000 barrels a year from a facility on Santa Fe Street in San Diego and bottles beer, including its Red Trolley Ale, that is sold throughout Southern California.

Each of its restaurants also brews beer, including the one in Sorrento Mesa, which has a small test batch system.

According to the city of Temecula, Karl Strauss is looking to change the exterior colors of the building and build additional patios for outdoor dining.

The plans could be considered by the Planning Commission sometime in April, according to Patrick Richardson, director of development services.

The company was founded in the late 1980s by a pair of Stanford grads, Chris Cramer and Matt Rattner, who wanted to create something similar to the brew pub experience in Australia. Tapping the experience of a familial connection — longtime brewer Karl M. Strauss, Cramer's uncle — they opened up their first brew pub on Columbia Street in downtown San Diego.

The success of that establishment and Strauss' roster of award-winning beers allowed the company to expand both its brewing operation and the restaurant side of the business.

The addition of the Karl Strauss restaurant will give that southeast corner of Ynez and Winchester, which had been struggling for years, another shot of life. Late last year, a Famous Dave's BBQ restaurant opened in the building that had held a Johnny Carino's Italian place.

In coming weeks, the small building in that area that used to house a 5 & Diner is being renovated for use by the Ariz.-based My Big Fat Greek Restaurant chain.

The Karl Strauss restaurant is expected to employ about 100 people and Daversa said the company would be holding a job fair. The company also plans to woo the local craft beer fans via special events and tasting parties that will coincide with the opening.

The city's four newest brewers — Ironfire, Wiens, Aftershock and Refuge — have banded together and formed a guild that includes Temecula's Black Market, Brew-Ligion in Murrieta and Craft in Lake Elsinore.

Daversa was asked if the company planned to join the guild and work with the other brewers on tours and special events, such as an upcoming St. Patrick's Day party.

She said it sounds like a "great opportunity," something the company plans to explore.